(no subject)

[shapinglight]

Link here to a slightly tongue-in-cheek article in today's Guardian about Brit actors being cast in American TV shows, as Americans.

I'd been going to make some facetious comparison with American GIs coming to Britain during WW2 (overpaid, oversexed and over here), but in fact the Brit actors are not like the GIs. They are more like the influx of Polish plumbers to the UK back in pre-credit crunch days, in that they are not only very good at their job and very hard workers, but they also come very cheap.

Apparently, they are also getting better at doing the accent, though even those who aren't so good, like Dominic West, seem to get away with it. Certainly, two of the three Brit actors (Joseph Fiennes and Sonia Walger) in the first episode of Flash Forward, which was shown here on Monday night, could have fooled anyone this side of the Pond that they were really American (if they didn't know who they were already) and possibly on the other side as well.

Speaking of Flash Forward (spoilers for ep 1 within)



I've only seen one person on my flist mention it. Did no one else like it, or even watch it? Must admit, I'm not sure I can be bothered with any more of it. It comes from the makers of Lost and you can tell. Ep 1 featured lots of rather dull characters we're evidently supposed to care about, plus a lot of explosions and mysterious goings on - not to mention a brief appearance by an incongruous animal (a kangaroo rather than a polar bear, in this instance). However, since it's obvious already who the villain is, and since I'm pretty sure they're basically making it up as they go along (like Lost), I'm not sure I have the patience for any more.

If you're wondering how I've fingered the villain already, it's easy. It has to be Jack Davenport, yet another British thesp (though presumably a little better known in the US, thanks to the Pirates of the Caribbean movies). How do I know he's the villain? It's simple. Because he's been allowed to keep his own accent of course.

Comments

[tx-cronopio.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you for the very lovely Simon Baker :)

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

He's Australian, though :D

[deird1]

*is an Aussie*

You're welcome.

:)

[shapinglight]

I understand we're not responsible for him, but you're welcome.

though I have no idea who he is.

[quinara]

How do I know he's the villain? It's simple. Because he's been allowed to keep his own accent of course.

Haven't even seen it, but I'd bet money that's true.

(I wonder if American accents are going to become anglicised like how ours were australiated (I can't think of a decent word for that) by Neighbours and everything else in the 90s?!)

[deird1]

Wait - Neighbours affected British accents?!

[shapinglight]

Haven't even seen it, but I'd bet money that's true.

Go on, then. I bet you 5p. Except that doesn't work, because we both think the same. :)

(I wonder if American accents are going to become anglicised like how ours were australiated

Aargh! What a horrible thought! We'd all end up sounding like Alexis Denisof when he's being silly and pretending to be American.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Apparently there were comments about Jamie Bamber's "fake" accent on "Dollhouse" (he was using his own British accent!) so I guess he was fairly good at the American version too :D (And there's Lena Headey in "Sarah Connor" as well!) And Aidan Gillen and Idris Elba on "The Wire" were absolutely perfect (though I guess Gillen is actually Irish!)

P.S. Re: Idris Elba: he's going to be in a BBC series called "Luther" that sounds really good, so I look forward to reading what you have to say about it!

[shapinglight]

Apparently there were comments about Jamie Bamber's "fake" accent on "Dollhouse" (he was using his own British accent!)

Heh! Really? Mind you, I can understand that. Whenever I hear Alexis Denisof speaking with his actual accent I want to tell him to stop pretending to be American and talk properly.

As for what you say about Idris Elba - :bounce: Can't wait! He's so, so good (as was his Baltimore accent IMO). Seeing him on Brit TV again will be brilliant. And we're very lucky he hasn't turned his back on the UK for good.

Don't have a Stringer icon uploaded at the moment, unfortunately.

ETA: also, do you have a link to info about this show? Believe it or not, this is the first I've heard of it.

[next_to_normal]

I watched it. I really liked the premise - I'm a fan of sci-fi-ish mysteries, and the immediate aftermath of the blackout was pretty cool. But it kind of lost me in the second half when everyone just sort of ignored the global destruction and acted like the only problem was figuring out what caused it.

Why is the hospital not overflowing with injured people? How are the roads already safe to drive on? How are people with professions like doctor and FBI agent able to go home at the end of the day instead of being overwhelmed with crises? That doesn't make any sense. But the premise and the reveal at the end with the one conscious guy were intriguing enough that I'll tune in again.

Which one was Jack Davenport? I've seen Pirates, but I must've totally not recognized him.

[shapinglight]

But it kind of lost me in the second half when everyone just sort of ignored the global destruction and acted like the only problem was figuring out what caused it.

Yes, that scene where the FBI people were just standing around talking about their flashes forward was just weird.

As for Jack Davenport, he was the man in the FBI agent's wife's flash forward, with whom she saw herself having an affair - the father of the little boy she operated on. In Pirates, he was Commodore Wotsit, who had a Thing for Keira Knightley's character (whose name I can't remember, sorry).

It's like Baltar from BSG all over again.

[sockmonkeyhere.livejournal.com]

Why is the hospital not overflowing with injured people? How are the roads already safe to drive on? How are people with professions like doctor and FBI agent able to go home at the end of the day instead of being overwhelmed with crises? That doesn't make any sense.

That's exactly what I thought, too -- why is the hospital so quiet and empty? It should be PACKED with casualties and emergency cases for WEEKS!

But the premise and the reveal at the end with the one conscious guy were intriguing enough that I'll tune in again.

That grainy footage of the conscious guy was totally creepy. And the surveillance films of people dropping like flies was eerie, too. It's the global loss of consciousness concept that intrigued me; I found myself not at all interested in the "visions of the future" part.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

We're taking ten British actors for every time we send Marsters over to do John Hart in an TW episode. :D

(I...like his fake accent better than his real American one.)

Could we please have Gillian Anderson back in the US sometime? :)

[shapinglight]

We're taking ten British actors for every time we send Marsters over to do John Hart in an TW episode. :D

Given the current exchange rate, that's probably about right. :) As for Gillian, we'll keep her, unless she gets fed up of us, like Madonna.

Have you seen Bleak House? She was brilliant in that.

Also, talking about American thesps in UK productions, there's a totally brilliant '80s Brit TV drama, which wouldn't be nearly as good as it is if not for Joe Don Baker. It's called Edge of Darkness. Highly recommended.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Must admit, I'm not sure I can be bothered with any more of it. It comes from the makers of Lost

Really? I hadn't heard that. Watched the premiere and wasn't all that interested in it. Thought I would be but... nope. I know that they've cast it repeatedly as "could it be the replacement for LOST?" but hadn't heard of any Lostie but Monoghan [sp] involved. Googling, it lists Brannon Braga as the executive producer and I only know him from Star Trek. Didn't recognize the names of any of the other producers.

At any rate, I agree that FlashFoward seemed rather blah. (Though I'm desperately awaiting the final season of LOST. It became awesomecakes when it went totally time-tripping/war of the Egyptian gods crack addled.)

[shapinglight]

Is Lost not finished then? I thought it was. I long ago lost track of it, when Sky nicked it off Channel 4 and I was no longer able to watch it.

Maybe the TV books over here have it wrong, then? Flash Forward is very much being touted as a replacement for Lost, which made me think that, firstly Lost was over, and second that there was an actual connection. Ah well.

[next_to_normal]

I know that they've cast it repeatedly as "could it be the replacement for LOST?"

I think they've tried to bill every show with a somewhat mysterious overarching plot as "the next Lost." :-P So far, none of 'em have stuck. Sonya Walger's in it - she was also on Lost, I think - but there's no production connection that I know of.

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

I watched Flash Forward and had pretty much the same reaction you did. It wasn't horrible, but I wasn't immediately pulled in, either.

On the other hand, pretty, pretty Joseph Fiennes! I'm very fond of John Cho, too — he's easy on the eyes and always interesting to watch.

[shapinglight]

I've never seen John Cho before. You're right that he's very pretty. What else has he been in?

[whichclothes.livejournal.com]

Didn't watch Flash Forward. I feel exactly the same way as you do when Alexis Denisof talks like an American. I prefer James Marsters as a Brit, too--after all, I can hear people talk like Modestans any day of the week. :-)

And I know it's patehtic, but I'm still vastly amused that Vampire Bill is actually British. It's like he and James Marsters are in some sort of undead exchange program.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

And talk about accents. Suckuh is MAHN! LOL!

[shapinglight]

I prefer James Marsters as a Brit, too--after all, I can hear people talk like Modestans any day of the week. :-)

Heh! True, though JM's accent isn't really that good any more.

And I know it's patehtic, but I'm still vastly amused that Vampire Bill is actually British. It's like he and James Marsters are in some sort of undead exchange program.

Really? I didn't know that either. Blimey, Hollywood is so crawling with Brit actors it's a wonder we have any left.

[calturner.livejournal.com]

I liked the first ep of Flash Forward, but then again it's exactly the sort of thing I love. I'm also a big fan of the book by Robert J Sawyer that it's based on, so that's probably swayed my judgement quite a bit. I'll definitely be sticking with it for now. :)

There's still one last season of Lost that will begin airing in January. The later seasons have been great (I'm a sucker for time travel), so I'm looking forward to seeing how it all ends.

There does seem to be a lot of Brit actors being cast in US shows lately. And US shows do have a tendency to have British villains (which I find annoying). I won't tell you if your prediction for Flash Forward is likely to have any truth in it. I'm familiar with the character from the book, but don't know if Flash Forward willl follow the story of the book or not. They've already changed some things - the main thing being the flash forward itself. In the book, they flashed forward twenty years, not six months.

[shapinglight]

And US shows do have a tendency to have British villains (which I find annoying)

Yes, me too. It sort of puts me off, have to say. As for how much Flash Forward will be based on the book, I don't know, but I'm sure I saw in the Radio Times that the producers have said people won't get any clues from reading the book, so they must have changed a lot.

[shylahmask.livejournal.com]

Alexis Denisof with an American accent is very funny to me. Although, I do think the silliness of it actually added to his character on How I Met Your Mother. (Don't know if you've seen any clips of him in it -- he plays a very sleazy news anchor.) It's very hard to believe that he'd use that accent at all outside of being filmed.

Never seen Lost and probably won't see FlashForward. From reviews of both shows by people who like and people who dislike them, I don't think they're the sort of thing I'd be interested in.

Also, my parents are big fans of House so I'm subjected to Hugh Laurie's accent which, while not silly like Alexis's, still bugs me. (Maybe in part because I was exposed to him at a young age on Jeeves and Wooster and Blackadder. My older brother owned a large box of Blackadder VHS tapes.)

[shapinglight]

Alexis Denisof with an American accent is very funny to me.

I know! It doesn't sound right at all. And I think his accent has definitely been affected by all the time he spent in the UK. I read an interview with him when he was doing that Arthur Miller play in Liverpool, in which he said he had to re-learn how to do a proper American accent for the play. He sounded okay in that, in fact.

I've never seen a single episode of House. For me, Hugh Laurie will probably always be Bertie Wooster.

[kitty-poker1.livejournal.com]

Simon Baker is the star of the successful American series, The Mentalist (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1196946/) and a graduate of Home and Away. Eep!

Without a Trace makes me giggle. Two of the stars are Australian, one is a Brit and they all sound authentically American to me, especially the Brit, Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Mind you, Anthony LaPaglia is responsible for one of the worst British accents since Dick Van Dyke in Frasier.

[shapinglight]

and a graduate of Home and Away. Eep!

Well, it was either that or Neighbours. :)

Mind you, Anthony LaPaglia is responsible for one of the worst British accents since Dick Van Dyke in Frasier.

God, yes! Wasn't it atrocious?